A. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to accessory management and data communication via an audio port on an electronic device.
B. Background of the Invention
Audio sockets have been commonly used in various electronic devices, such as computers, laptops, media players, smart phones, etc. to communicate with audio accessories having audio jacks. The mostly common used jack plugs have 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm or 6.35 mm (¼ inch) configurations with 2, 3 or 4 conductors for mono, stereo or stereo plus microphone compatibility. Stereo 3.5 mm jacks may be used for line in/out, headset out, loudspeaker out, microphone in, etc. Three-conductor connectors are common on older electronic devices, while 4-conductor 3.5 mm connectors are more commonly used on modern electronic devices, including most smart phones.
A 2-conductor jack is called TS connector with a tip and a sleeve for mono audio communication. A 3-conductor jack is called TRS connector with a tip, a ring and a sleeve for stereo audio communications. A 4-conductor jack is usually called TRRS connector with a tip, two rings and a sleeve for stereo plus microphone line communications. In certain circumstances, it is desirable to use a TRRS jack to transmit additional audio microphone signal to cellular phones.
Efforts have been done to explore further potential applications using audio jack connection. Given the variety in the audio accessories of different characteristics and preferred settings, it would be desirable to provide improved accessory management and data communication via audio port for supporting interactions between electronic devices and accessories.